Hosiery drying apparatus



Oct. 29, 1940. T. w. PROSSER HOSIERY DRYING APPARATUS Filed Jul 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Tfiamas M4 P/osser, BY

ATTORNE Oct. 29, 1940. Tjw, PRQSSER 2,219,373

HOSIERY DRYING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1938 INVENTOR Thomas M/. Pros-5a" Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,219,373 I' v HOSIERY DRYING APPARATUS Thomas W. Prosser, Riverside, Califl, assignor to Paramount Textile Machinery 00., Chicago,'Ill., a corporation of Illinois I Application July 22, 1938, Serial No. 220,663 8 Claims. (o m- 6) This invention comprises improvements in forms for shaping, finishing and drying gar.- ments, as for example hose, knitted underwear and thelike, and has particulanthough not exe clusive, reference to forms adapted for internal heating by steam, electricity or other heating media, it being understood thatsit maybe employed in forms holding. garments being dried from an external source of heat, More particularly,,it has reference to forms that are of relatively fiat substantially oval cross-section, having sharp crease-producing edges on the major axis thereof, as for example, the form generally described in United-States Letters Patent No.

5 1,207,496, granted to Walter T. Butz on December 5,1916.

- An object of the present'invention is to increase to a considerable extent the utility of such forms by rendering one and the same form adaptable for use in treating articles of different shapes and sizes, thereby obviating the necessity of providing aseparate and distinct form for each and every variation in the shape or size of articles being treated.

. With the above object in view, the principal feature of this invention resides in the application to a form for shaping, finishing and drying garments of detachable and interchangeable edge-pieces, to enable the contour of any part of 30 the form, and particularly the edge, and also the size of the form to be varied to conform to the shape and size of the article being treated. The term edge-pieces is intended to distinguish the present invention from hosiery finishing forms as hitherto proposed wherein detachable cap-like members and other separate substantially complete toe-portions of varied shape and size are utilized to adapt the form to suit hosiery having feet of various sizes, although 40 it will be comprehended from the following description that the invention may be exercised to provide such toe members cojointly with the interchangeable edge-pieces. v v

Other features of the invention will be found 45 in the hereinafter described construction and arrangement of parts constituting a form.

In the drawings:

' Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention for internal heating by steam and with 50 the edge-pieces in position;

Figure 2 shows an exploded View of the upper end of one of the edge-pieces in relation to the form; H Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Figurev r Figures 4, 5 and 6 represent three ways 01 constructing the joint at the upper junction of the edge-piece and form;

- Figure 7 shows an alternative means for retaining the edge-pieces in position on the form, 5 and r 1 Figure 8 shows still another way of retaining the-edge-piece in position on theform.

, Figure 9 illustrates a cross-section similar to that ofFigure 3 but of a different construction. 10 ofthe body of the form, and

Figure 9a illustrates a cross section similar to that of Figure 3,'but of a modified type of engaging means between the edge pieces and the form shank;

Figure 10 shows a detail of the spring member of Figure 1;

Figure 11 is an-elevational view of the joint of Figure 6.

The following description will refer to a form adapted to be heated by steam although it will be obviouslthat the essentials of the invention may be applied to a form heated internally by other meansor from an exterior source of heat. Furthermore, the description willbe of a form specifically adapted to finish hosiery even though the invention may be applied in all its elements to apparatus for drying and finishing a' variety of other garments.

'Referringto Figure 1, l is a conduit supplying steam through a tube 2 to the hollow interior 3 of a form'4 of, for example, cast metal, although it may be comprised of sheet metal fabricated by welding or otherwise. The steam circulates into the hollow foot portion 5, of the form and then downwardly in the space between the tube 2 and interior 3 into the annular chamber 6 between conduit l and pipe 1 which, through studs 8 inserted therein and nuts 9, serves to support the form 4. The water of condensation passes 40 out through chamber 6 to a conventional trap. At this point it may be explained that usually the pipe 1 supports a number of forms 4, but it is deemed necessary to illustrate only one and to break the pipes l and I for clarity.

It will be appreciated that in certain cases it is preferred to heat the form by a reverse method of circulation, i. e., by introducing the heating medium by Way of the conduit 7 into the space between tube 2 and chamber 3, and removing the medium through tube 2 and conduit l. Furthermore, the invention is not to be understood as limited to a form havingthe precise construction of channels for circulating the heating medium shown or described, but may be applied in its 1 be appreciated that essence to a form having the construction shown, for example, in the United States patent to Thomas W. Prosser, No. 1,816,296 of July 28, 1931.

The stem or shank H of the form 4 is made substantially narrower than the shape of the desired drying form, and the full contour desired is obtained by attaching edge-pieces l2 and H! to the shank II. It will be readily understood that the invention is not limited to any specified number of edge-pieces, since there may be instances where an edge-piece may be interchanged on only one edge of the form, example, one for standard ladies stockings and ladies outsize stockings, where the goods differ only on one side corresponding to the curved rear edge of the form; or there may be instances where, in addition to the edge-pieces for changing the leg portion of the form, the dimensions of the foot or toe may be changed. For purposes of illustration I have shown in Figurel a form and edge-pieces assembled for finishing a childrens three-quarter length stocking, wherein it is necessary to have a bulge on both crease-producing edges.

To facilitate engagement of the edge-pieces with the shank and transfer of heat from the interior of the form to the edge-pieces, there are provided tongue and groove joints or equivalent intimately engaging aligning means, as for example, as shown at M and I5 in Figures 2 and 3. This tongue and groove preferably extend substantially the entire length of the joint between the edge-pieces and the shank, although it will it may be interrupted if desired, or may be entirely substituted for by dowel pins or the like.

In order to locate the edge-piece accurately in a vertical direction with respect to the form proper, the upper end of the edge-piece is formed in a substantially arcuate head, as at 21 and 22, and mates with correspondingly arcuate sockets 23 and 2 1 in the form proper. The head 2| and 22 and sockets 23 and 24 are offset as moreclear- 1y shown in Figures 4 and 5, to provide a joint that will not snag the goods, as will. be described.

It is recognized that articles of hosiery or the like inevitably have on the inner surface loose threads or loops that may catch in a projection or crack in the form and cause runs or snags. By referring to Figure 4 it will be noted that the joint between the upper end of the edge-piece and the form is offset or broken, beginning at the extended vertical mating surfaces of the edgepiece and form and continuing outward to the crease producing edge. Since the tension on an article drawn over a form for drying is greatest at the sharp edge, the tendency for loose threads to enter a joint at that region is enhanced and is therefore eliminated by moving the re-entrant portion or crack of the joint to regions removed from the edge. As will be seen in Figures 2 and 4 the joint at the sharp edge of the form, as indicated at 25, is exactly in line with the edge so that snagging is eliminated. A modification of the construction of Figure 4: is shown in Figure 5 wherein the offset, instead of being aligned with the sharp form edge, crosses it at a slight angle. In either modification, shown in Figures 4 and 5, the result is the same. In Figures 6 and 11 I have shown the joint without any offset as just described. This type of joint, being cheaper to fabricate, may be employed in forms used for coarser merchandise where snagging is not so likely" to occur. In Figure 11 the crack, of the as for joint is intentionally exaggerated to bring out the interstice in which snagging may occur.

To engage the edge-pieces positively and intimately in contact with the form to ensure efficient heat transmission between them, and to locate the edge-piece snugly in its socket at the top of form I have provided what are sometimes termed grasshopper springs 26, as shown generally in Figure l, and in detail in Figure 10. The upper leg 21 of said spring 26 engages a recess 28 formed transversely in the lower end of edgepieces l2 and I3 and the independent legs 29 of the said spring engage the form proper by having their inturned ends forced into holes 30 formed in each side of both faces of the form, wherein they are permitted to swivel from full to dotted line positions as clearly indicated in Figure 1. Stop pins 32 inserted in the form limit the downward movement of the springs 26 to facilitate their function to be described. Since the contact between the not form body and the springs is minute, no appreciable amount of heat can be transmitted to the springs to affect their temper, whereas an engaging means which relies on an extended contact with the form body is quite likely to have its temper, and hence its holding efficiency, afiected.

Operation of the apparatus will be more or less obvious from the foregoing but I will allude to certain particulars further. The form proper 4 is permanently attached to the conduit 1 and the heating medium may circulate therethrough continuously. If it is desired to finish, for example, childrens three-quarter length hose, a pair of edge-pieces l2 and I3 having a contour generally like that depicted in Figure l is attached to the form .proper by locatin each edge-piece vertically and transversely by engagement of the head 2| and 22 with sockets 23 and 24 and resting the recess .28 on leg 21 of spring 26, all as shown by dotted lines in Figure 1. The edge-piece is then pushed by handat about the middle of its length and it then snaps into position against the form proper under the inward and upward urging of the spring 26 which acts as a toggle. Positive alignment of the surface of the attachment with the surface of the form is assured by the tongue and groove joint as clearly shown in Figure 3. Conduction of heat from the form body to the edge-pieces is assured by the intimate contact between the mating surfaces thereof and because of the tongue and groove joint a substantially extended heat transferring area is provided of approximately twice the area that would exist if no such tongue and groove were employed and plain fiat mating surfaces were relied upon. Furthermore, the edge-pieces being of solid metal of high heat conductivity, act as reservoirs of heat and do not cool off rapidly and thereby retard the drying operation when the cold, wet hosiery is contacted therewith.

The detachment of the edge-pieces is effected by manually pressing down on the upper leg 21 of the springs 26 and rotating them in a direction opposite to that employed when attaching the edge-piece, whereupon the pressure against the edge-pieces is relieved and they may be easily removed in readiness for the attachment of a set of edge-pieces of another contour, as for example, for childrens half hose. It will be understood by the skilled in the art that I do not intend to limit myself to edge-pieces of any particular outline, but to comprehend broadly the attainment of a multiplicity of different shapes on one basic form depending pon the shapes of a variety of goods being processed. '1

In Figures 7 and 8 I have shown two modified: means of seeming the edge-pieces against the form proper. Both types comprehend edgepieces having their upper engagement as heretofore explained or otherwise constructed but in Figure 7 cams 40 mounted eccentrically' on pivots 4| and rotated by handles 42, engage with incut sections 45 of the edge-pieces tolock them in place. Rotation of the handles downward will perform the locking operation and reverse rotation will release them. Connecting links 43, one on each side of the rollers, maintain the locking assembly unitary and the entire assembly may be moved downward to permit clearance for removal and replacement of the edge-pieces.

In Figure 8 a hinged bolt bearing a wing nut 5| engages a slot 52 in the lower end of the edgepiece to lock it in an obvious manner.

In the smaller sizes of forms the stem l I of the form proper is generally of small cross section and consequently the fabrication of the form, when made of cast metal, is rendered more diificult because of the necessary small cross section v of the core used in the mold. Accordingly, I prefer to cast a tube 60 (Figure 9) integrally with the form body and extending from near the base to the region of the heel. It is considerably simpler to locate this tube and to hold it in position than to do the same with an ordinary sand core, thereby speeding up the molding operation, cheapening the ultimate cost and eliminating blow holes frequently caused by sand cores. In addition, the tube, being preferably of steel, contributes substantially to the strength of the form by acting as a backbone to the entire structure. The inner tube 4 is placed within the tube 60 similarly to the disclosure of Figure 1.

In Figure 9 I have shown the shank of the form provided with tongues and the edge pieces provided with grooves to engage therewith. In Figure 9a. there is shown a modification in which the edge pieces are provided with tongues to engage with grooves in the form shank.

One particular advantage in continuing the facial contour of the form body in an unbroken manner onto the edge-piece is the attainment of a flush joint between the parts so that the fabric stretched thereover will not bridge at any zone, but will lie in close contact with the form and edge-pieces for rapid drying. Other types of changeable contour forms heretofore used are characterized by having the edge-pieces overlying the form body so that the fabric bridges across the form and heat must be conducted from the form body across the air gap before reaching the article being dried. Consequently drying is retarded.

A major shortcoming of prior art apparatus wherein bifurcated sheet metal members are attached to the sides of a form by frictional engagement alone resides in the necessity of maintaining sufficient tension in the bifurcated member to grip the form and maintain the attachment against shifting during the boarding operation. Firstly, the metal tends to lose its tension after frequent applications and detachments of the edge-piece, and secondly, the maintenance of a sufficient tension produces a scratching of the surface of the form proper. If the latter is of cast metal, as for example, aluminum, the surface is soon burred and will snag the garment unless polishing is resorted to at frequent intervals. Both of the deficiencies described are overcome by the use of my invention.

In the use of sheet metal attachments as just described, there isno way of preventing erroneous interchangeability unless stamped indications of some kind are included on the form as well as the attachments, and such indicia are frequently overlooked by the operative, resulting in the attachment of the edge-pieces to the form in reverse positions, that is to say, the left for the right, or the turning of a bottom of the attachment to the top, attachments relatively to each other Furthermore, if care is not taken to engage such attachments snugly against the form body, the finished article would bev boarded too wide or in a distorted shape. ished uniformly on a set of such forms and attachments will not pair with each other. By the improvement of my invention an attachment may be located with respect to the form only in one position, since it will readily be noted from an examination of Figures 1 and 2 that the offset head portion 2| and 22 of the attachment on the right hand edge-piece, for example, cannot be erroneously inserted in the left hand sockets 23 and 24, and vice versa.

It will be appreciated that it is not necessary to limit the mated portions of the sockets 23 and 24 and head portions 2i and 22 to the precise shape shown; that construction is preferred since it yields a non-snagging joint while rendering the engaging portions dissimilar to avoid erroneous interchangeability of a pair of attachments or mislocation thereof. The engaging portions of the shank of the form and the attachments may be constructed differently at each edge of the form so long as they are dissimilar in some respect to avoid confusion in locating the attachments properly.

I claim:

1. A garment drying and finishing form comprising a body portion and removable edge-pieces together forming a unitary device having crease producing edges, said body portion having a socket on each face and adjacent each edge, one socket of each pair of sockets adjacent an edge being oifset with respect to the other, said edge-pieces each being provided with end portions adapted to mate with said sockets whereby a non-snagging joint is formed between said body portion and said edge-pieces.

2. A garment drying and finishing form comprising a body portion and a removable edgepiece together forming a unitary device having crease producing edges, said body portion having a socket on each face and adjacent one edge, one socket of said pair of sockets being oifset from the other, and said edge-piece being provided with an end portion adapted to mate with said sockets whereby a non-snagging joint is formed between said body portion and said edge-piece.

3. A garment drying form comprising a body portion and removable edge-pieces together forming a unitary drying structure, sockets in said body portion, a head on each edge-piece adapted to engage each of said sockets and means mounted on said body portion and engageable with said edgepieces to lock said pieces and said body portion in intimate engagement.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3 except that it is characterized by cam locking means to lock said pieces and said body portion in intimate engagement.

5. A structure as defined in claim 3 except that Thus hosiery intended to be fin-' or in displacement of the right and left it is characterized by tension locking means to lock said pieces and said body portion in intimate engagement.

6. A garment drying apparatus comprising a body portion, interchangeable contour changing members therefor, and means removed from the garment contacting surface for holding said members in engagement with said body portion.

'7. A garment drying and shaping form comprising a body portion and a removable edge piece at each side thereof together forming a unitary device having crease producing edges, said body portion having a recess on each face and adjacent each edge, the said recesses in one face being oifset from the neighboring recesses in the opposite face; each said edge piece being provided with an end portion shaped to mate with a respective pair of recesses but not with the other pair of recesses, whereby erroneous assembly of said pair of edge pieces with the body portion is avoided.

8. An internally heated garment drying apparatus comprising a drying form of cast metal having a tube integrally cast therewith; supporting means for said form comprising a conduit connecting with said tube and serving also to conduct the heating medium away from said form; a second conduit within said first mentioned conduit for conducting the heating medium to said form; a second tube connecting with said second mentioned conduit, said second-mentioned tube being of smaller cross sectional area than said first-mentioned tube and located Within the same.

THOMAS W. PROSSER. 

